Howard County public school teachers aren?t required to take drug tests, unless there is a suspicion of use, school officials said.
“If there is a reasonable cause to suspect that any other employee might be using drugs or alcohol, we can require a test at that time,” schools spokeswoman Patti Caplan said.
Employees driving a school system vehicle, such as facilities and warehouse workers, are tested when they are hired, she said.
However, school board member Diane Mikulis said she didn?t see any problem with the way the school system?s policy works and that drug use isn?t a “common occurrence.”
“There are so many thousands of employees,” she said, adding that drug testing could be expensive.
A Howard High School guidance counselor was arrested Wednesday after drug detectives found crack cocaine in his car, parked on the school?s lot, police said.
Alan Silberman, 62, was a 35-year veteran of the school system and is a counselor for students in grades 10 through 12, according to the school counseling department?s Web site.
Teachers in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll and Harford counties also are not required to be drug tested, according to school spokespeople. In Carroll, those with commercial driver?s licenses face testing when they are hired, spokeswoman Carey Gaddis said.
Most governments require pre-employment or probable cause testing, said Mike Gimbel, director of substance-abuse education at Sheppard Pratt Hospital System.
“If a government, school or company isn?t using some type of pre-employment testing, or some type of drug effort, they are obviously making a big mistake and missing an opportunity,” he said.
